Imprint
by The Fangirl92
Summary: Those we care about are never truly gone. Cody just has to be reminded.


Hi. This idea was floating in my head. Tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Cody Jones really didn't like being sick.

Correction, he absolutely _deplored_ being sick. Despite the medical advancements 2105 offered, nothing could prevent someone from catching a cold. Now that the turtles were here, Cody was spending a lot more time outside. Because his immune system wasn't the strongest (He had spent the majority of his life staying inside the sterilized environment of the penthouse after all.) he was bound to catch something sooner or later.

The O'Neil heir sighed to himself and pulled his blankets toward his chin. Today he and the rest of the gang were supposed to go to Coney Island. Even after all these years it was still a fantastic amusement park. The guys, especially Mikey, had really been looking forward to going. Cody chuckled to himself as he remembered how Mikey had jumped around like on a sugar high, until Raph got fed up and decided to chase his little brother.

He was supposed to have a fun day with his idols under the sun, but instead he got a sore throat, a fever, a stuffy nose and a day in bed. It didn't help that Serling had been a mother hen all day. The pompous, meticulous robot nearly self-destructed himself with worry, and only after Donnie threatened to rewire his circuits did he finally let Cody sleep.

It was almost night time now, judging by the sunset that could be seen through Cody's window. After a day of sleeping and eating canned chicken noodle soup, Cody was somewhat feeling better. He just hoped that he was well enough to spend time with the guys tomorrow.

As Cody rolled over toward the doorway, he heard a knock followed shortly by Michelangelo's voice.

"Cody? Can I come in?"

"Yeah," he grimaced at his raspy sounding voice. Cody sat up and propped himself against his pillows.

The door opened to reveal Mikey standing at the opening, holding a tray of food in his hand. Mikey walked over to Cody and set the tray on the young heir's lap. On the tray were a blue willow bowl filled with soup, some crackers, a metal spoon, a napkin, and a tall glass of some sort of liquid Cody didn't recognize.

"Oh great, more soup," Cody said sarcastically.

Michelangelo chuckled, "I know, I know, but the good news is that this isn't that processed stuff Serling has been feeding you. This is Michelangelo's wonderful, spectacular, mind-blowing, cold-curing, incredibly delicious, homemade Hot and Sour Soup!"

Cody warily looked at the soup in his lap. Due to his mostly sheltered life, he hadn't had the chance to try cuisines from different cultures very often. He couldn't recall a time when the soup he was eating had red colored broth.

But Cody didn't want to hurt Mikey's feelings so he picked up the spoon and brought a spoonful of the weird looking soup to his mouth. Surprisingly, he found he loved it and hungrily brought the spoon up to his mouth again. After a long day of only eating chicken-noodle soup, the new flavors were a welcome change for him. Within five minutes the bowl was empty.

Once he was done, Cody let out a content sigh and closed his eyes. He leaned back and let his pillows embrace him lazily. His throat didn't irritate him much anymore and he could finally breathe in through his nose. Overall, he was feeling much better than he had been a few minutes ago.

The O'Neil heir opened his eyes and saw Mikey sitting on the edge of his bed with an amused smile on his face. Cody smiled back, "Thanks Mikey."

"No problem, dude."

"I'm curious though," Cody began, "Why did you make this soup?"

"Funny story behind that," the orange loving turtle said with an amused grin on his face.

"One time Raph got a cold and was sick for a couple days. By the third day Raph declared that he was tired of eating chicken noodle soup and basically refused to eat any more of, as he called it, that yellow looking crap," Michelangelo scrunched up his face and lowered his voice in a crude attempt to imitate his brother.

"Anyway, I had to figure out what soup to cook for him instead (My bros don't have too much talent in the kitchen.) so I looked up some recipes online. I found one for Hot and Sour soup and thought: Hey! Raph's a hothead, he'll love this! So I made it and he ended up liking it (Though he did smack me on the head for the hothead comment.). It just became tradition to make it when one of us is sick afterwards," Michelangelo finished, smiling.

Cody laughed at the end of the story, but then was suddenly hit by a sense of Déjà vu. Memories of his parents suddenly infiltrated his mind. When Cody was young and when his parents were alive, whenever he had been sick, his parents would take time out of their busy schedules to care for him. Cody remembered how his mother would fuss over him and how warm she was when she would hold him for comfort. He remembered how his father would move his sweaty hair from his eyes and how his father would tell him stories to lull him to sleep.

He remembered the unhappiness he felt whenever he was left alone with Serling. He remembered the sadness he felt when they died, when he realized they were completely gone.

"Cody?" Mikey's concerned voice snapped him from his thoughts, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Cody stuttered, twisting the blankets in his hands, "It's just that…you reminded me of my parents when they would take care of me," he finished quietly.

Michelangelo looked away and bit his bottom lip. The entire time the turtles had been here, not one of them had asked about Cody's parents. From the way Cody was living and from the fact that Cody's uncle was in charge of O'Neil Tech, they all had deduced that Cody's parents were no longer in the physical world. Michelangelo didn't know what to say since he never underwent what Cody did. Mikey could only compare what Cody was feeling to the time when Master Splinter had been missing.

"It's just that you taking care of me reminded me of them, and that in turn made me remember they are completely gone," Mikey moved to look at Cody, who was staring at his hands as he spoke. "That's what's going to happen to you guys when you get back to your time," Cody said sadly.

"No," the sharpness in Mikey's voice startled Cody into looking at him. Michelangelo's face was serious: his eyes were narrowed and focused only on Cody. Needless to say, the young heir was shocked to see the usually carefree and happy turtle so focused and serious.

"They aren't completely gone. And neither will we," Mikey said, his voice brimming with confidence.

Cody spluttered in protest, "That doesn't make sense! You guys aren't staying in the time period."

"Of course we're not," Cody looked crestfallen; even though he already knew realized his current family wouldn't be staying. "But," Michelangelo continued, his eyes locked onto Cody's, "Master Splinter says that people we care about leave an imprint on us that we cannot see. And even after they are gone, that imprint leaves a part of them always with us."

"How is that possible?"

"I'm not sure," Mikey's forehead wrinkled as he thought. "Sensei said that it's something you can't think about. Like, like…Why pizza is so good!" the orange banded turtles exclaimed ecstatically, a prize-winning smile on his face.

Cody couldn't help but chuckle. Leave it to Mikey to break the tension.

"My point is part of them is always with you," Mikey continued, the serious look back on his face. "And nothing will take that away."

_Part of them is always with you._

Cody was a man of science. He preferred to think in terms of facts. But as he sat there, reminiscing about his parents, he pondered how two living things could be completely erased.

The O'Neil heir smiled at the youngest mutant turtle and nodded.

"Good," Mikey grinned, "Now drink your ginger ale so you can get better.

A confused look appeared on Cody's face, "What's ginger ale."

Michelangelo looked horrified, "That tin can didn't let you even have ginger ale? That's it! I will be talking to him!"

Cody Jones laughed as Mikey continued to rant, seven words repeating themselves in his head.

_Part of them is always with you._

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading.


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